The World Wide Web (“Web”) has evolved into an infinitely large virtual metropolis where a person can find just about anything from general information regarding people, places and things to real and commercial property offered for sale. For example, information on nearly anything and everything is offered on the Web for free or for a fee. Virtual communities are prevalent and buying and selling merchandise and services via the Internet has become a more widely accepted practice and way of doing business within the last handful of years.
Aside from established merchants and commercial retailers, individuals have found a marketplace online for shopping or peddling their new or used merchandise as well as seeking or offering a variety of services. Many employers seeking employees and those seeking employment have turned to the Internet for opportunities; and finding your future spouse or others with similar interests is a viable trend in recent years as well. Generally speaking, this marketplace can be referred to as an online classifieds listing and some websites specializing in this type of commerce currently exist. Most notably, EBay and Craig's List are two of the more popular sites.
EBay is a national site for buyers and sellers across the country. However, national sites including EBay lack the level of personalization that may be more closely associated with some of the more parochial sites such as Craig's List. EBay has traditionally focused on the ability to hold auctions across the country while Craig's List has currently adopted a message board type of framework that is purely local based. Either one may offer apparent advantages over the other, but both share at least one common problem. As with many online commerce sites, both sellers and buyers remain somewhat unsure of the other's integrity. Questions such as “Will the seller really deliver on time and will the quality be as promised?” or “Will the buyer provide payment as promised and is the buyer a real person or is this a fraud?” can often run through the minds of the respective party. Thus, there is much room for improvement regarding Internet-based commerce to make it safer and to mitigate at least some of the implicit risks of conducting business in a virtual environment.